Political leaderships in Iraq have been discussing the outcomes of the Baghdad-Washington strategic dialogue that took place last week.
Despite cautious political calm, hardline Shiite parties still insist on the importance of the US withdrawal being on top of the agenda of dialogue during the coming period.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command (JOC) announced on Sunday capturing a flatbed truck in northern Baghdad that had been turned into a Katyusha rocket launcher.
According to the statement tweeted by the JOC, which oversees most of the Iraqi Army, the vehicle was discovered in the northern neighborhood of Rashidiya.
The JOC noted that while Iraqi forces approached the truck, two missiles fired “spontaneously” but “fell in a remote area without significant losses.”
The JOC did not say to which group it believed the truck’s operators pledged allegiance.
Another Kia truck fitted for firing the unguided rockets was also found in Rashidiya in March, although the launch tubes were of a different design.
Even though the truck’s seizure is considered the first lead in the search for parties threatening US interests in Iraq, especially the embassy in the green zone and bases where US troops are located, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi ordered unifying army speech so that it does not conflict with political statements and stances.
This came after Kadhimi headed a meeting on national security.
According to officials, Kadhimi ordered military and security agencies and leaders to avoid expressing political views on social media.
Security expert Hisham al-Hashimi says that Kadhimi’s orders follow chaos created by conflicting statements issued by military and security agencies and aims at organizing those bodies.
“It is clear that the political process in Iraq has reached a deadlock. As a result, it has become necessary to find nonconventional solutions to back the political process,” political analyst and former lawmaker Haidar al-Mala told Asharq Al-Awsat.
